Without knowing anything. I'd assume the initial working model is what he had in ORL with Dwight. Work with Dre like crazy and pray he develops into a low-post scorer. Surround him with great 3-pt shooters. I'd guess this probably means Monroe will be traded, in the right deal. Smith and Jennings most definitely on a short-leash, with the man on the bench having all the power in the organization (a great thing!).

I'd guess that Stauskas is pretty high up on our draft board. Maybe McDermott, if we can move Smith.

I'd guess that he looks to move Monroe for someone like Klay Thompson or Ryan Anderson (esp. if we can move Smith).

I'd imagine Kyle Lowry will be of interest to him on the market (esp. if we can move Jennings).

I'm not sure if I would just assume that Van Gundy will try to recreate the team that is considered by some the worst team in recent history to get to the Finals. Of course you can't knock any team that gets to the finals. I'm just saying it might not be a foregone conclusion that Stan is going to look to ship away talent so that he can get three point shooters.

I'm not sure if I would just assume that Van Gundy will try to recreate the team that is considered by some the worst team in recent history to get to the Finals. Of course you can't knock any team that gets to the finals. I'm just saying it might not be a foregone conclusion that Stan is going to look to ship away talent so that he can get three point shooters.

#1) Greg Monroe. In the past, SVG has liked 4's who spread out the court with 3-pt shooting (isolating premiere big man 5's in the low-post), and he hasn't put a great emphasis on offensive rebounding. Is that going to be the case in Detroit? When he has COMPLETE control? Idk. Buuut, I am pretty sure about one thing. DEFENSE will remain a very, very important aspect of his philosophy. *And, **actually**, I am pretty sure about two things -- Andre Drummond will be his 5 of choice, not Monroe. So. What's to become of Monroe. He's a good low-post scorer, a terrible perimeter player. He's a good rebounder (important?). He's a good low-post defender, but a bad modern-4 defender? If I had to say, I'd probably have to lean towards Greg being traded. For what or who... we'll get to that later.

#2) Josh Smith. Certainly not a great perimeter player. Probably without bias, it can be said that he's a bad contract. A coach's headache in the past, non-biased. But a terrific defender, when motivated. And a terrific offensive contributor, when taking coaching. A better fit for us at the 4 than Monroe, I think. Might be a wait-and-see approach here. Will he give great effort on D for SVG? Will he do what he wants offensively? Will he be a leader culture-wise? He could work out. He could not work out and become a necessary trade. I'm guessing.. if SVG can find a way to unload him, for nothing, he will. Rumors were there WAS interest in such a deal.. at the deadline and as recently as this month. But Joe-D wanted actual assets in return. Will SVG? I'm guessing not. I'm guessing he's shipped--for nothing.

#3) Brandon Jennings. Plus--young, super talented. Neg--horrible defender, coach's headache, bad contract. There could be a wait-and-see approach here. Does he become a good leader? Does he operate within the offense? Does he make SVG happy? Buuut, he'll never be even an average defender. And that'll be a major issue here for SVG. I'm guessing we shop him hard. Will there be any takers? I don't know. I haven't heard that there's interest in him. But I haven't heard that there isn't either. If someone is, it would be a giveaway. i.e., I'd expect nothing of value in return. His contract isn't super terrible. He could excite a fan-base and put some extra butts in the seats. If I'm being honest.. I'd guess that we'll be able to ship him, for nothing.

#4) Free Agents of interest.

.....A) Kyle Lowry. Perhaps I'm biased in my love of him. But he strikes me as someone SVG would be very interested in. A great, underrated player. Should come cheap enough if we go after him. Great dollar value. A solid outside shooter (.380 this season.. to Jennings' .337). A solid defender. A solid character guy/teammate/coach'ee. A young veteran. Won't need to be babysat. Can quickly become a leader. A good assist man. A solid-enough rim-attacker--important in a spread out offense. Being short, you wonder about his entry-passes to Dre. But SVG's always had shorter point guards.

.....B) Trevor Ariza. He's another dude that makes a ton of sense to me. Great outside shooter (.407 this season). Plus defender. Same, right age as Lowry. Good character/teammate/etc. Should be cheap enough.. nice dollar value.

*Lance Stephenson is a dude that might be of interest, I guess. But I'm reluctant.

#5) Monroe trade targets of interest.

.....A) The guy I really like right now is Ryan Anderson. Tremendous outside shooter for a 4 (.409 this season). Solid enough defender and rebounder. Might be someone who matches up trade-wise with Monroe. A guy who's been on the block. This is my #1 target.

.....A/B/C/etc.) If we get to keep our pick. The dude's I'm thinking about--depending on what happens above. I like Stauskas as a 2. I like McBuckets as a 4. I like Ennis as a point. And that's based on where we'll be picking.

***Outlook***

Not putting too much thought into bench players. If we traded Monroe for Anderson (worked something out along those lines--seems possible). Signed Lowry. Signed Ariza (two things we can afford to do, even if we don't trade Smith/Jennings). Draft Stauskas. We'll be looking at something like this:

That was just sort of an "off-the-top-of-my-head" post. But the more I'm thinking about it. The more I'm really liking it..

#1) The Greg Monroe / Ryan Anderson trade. Anderson was on the block at the deadline, and throughout most of the season -- for some reason? He's young. He's an excellent outside shooter. He's a solid defender. He's a great character guy. He makes about $8mil/season.. so he's right in the range that would work for Monroe in a sign-and-trade. New Orleans is determined to keep Anthony Davis at the 4, so Monroe would really be a perfect fit alongside him at the 5. Man. It makes sense.

#2) Signing Lowry and Ariza. Both are in that perfect age. Veterans that don't need to be baby-sat, but still young and in their primes. Both are great outside shooters. Both are solid defenders. Both are great character guys. And both are cheap enough that we'd be able to sign them even if we can't get rid of Smith/Jennings.

#3) Drafting Stauskas. He'll enter the league as one of it's top-5 3-pt shooters. He's a great character guy. He's got a tremendous work-ethic, and I think he'll develop himself into a solid defender/all-around NBA player. If he's ever troubled with a tough matchup, KCP's shown promise and he's right there.

#4) I really do think we'll be able to find takers for Smith and Jennings..

...Definitely would need to acquire a solid backup center to take minutes of Drummond's back, but man, that's a great-looking (realistic) squad, isn't it? I actually like the idea of running with Siva as your backup point too--he's showed real promise, when he got the chance.

Monroe is obviously a very valuable asset. And to me, at this point in time, doesn't appear to be a fit in our future. I'd say that's more likely than not.

Smith and Jennings -- based on what I know/assume -- definitely aren't going to be favorites of SVG's. I've read there's legit interest in Smith for nothing trades, still. I'd assume that's more likely than not. And if there is GENUINE interest in Smith for nothing trades, there must be for Jennings as well?

Either way. We can afford to sign Lowry and Ariza even if we don't move Smith and/or Jennings.

Has to be some consideration of Ryan Anderson's horrible injury history. Great player, great fit, but can he stay healthy?

Click to expand...

I suppose that's a good point. Not a lot of 4's out there that can shoot like him, though. Another idea I really like is trading Monroe for a pick to acquire Doug McDermott. He's got an NBA All-Star's offensive repertoire already. Not as tall as Anderson, but much more versatile as a scorer/offensive contributor. He won't do much for you against a lock-down NBA stretch-4 defender who gives great effort. But how many of those are there in the league, really?

As a defender, probably never going to be above average. But work-ethic, smarts and tenacity go a long way. Mitchell can help out--a lot--against bigger, more athletic low-post attackers. McD is probably tough enough to handle most, though. And athletic enough to handle most stretch-4's.